Sofa bed



C. C. MCLEAN Oct. 8, 1957 SOFA BED 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed OCT.. 6, 1954 Oct. 8, 1957 c. c. MCLEAN SOFA BED 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 0n. 6. 1954 Y @MM ....ill. D!!! lvl-.1| il ilill. K

SOFA BED Y Colin Campbell McLean, Chicago, Ill. Application October 6, 1954, Serial No. 460,600

1 Claim. (Cl. 5-43) This invention relates to a sofa that is adapted to be lconverted for use as a bed and, more particularly, is concerned with a sofa bed that provides sleeping accommodations for a single person.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide such a device wherein the back cushions of the sofa are adapted to be converted into a mattress for the bed.

Another object is to provide a device that offers a greater sleeping area than known prior art beds of this type.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a properly contoured sofa that readily converts to a comfortably contoured bed, though the contour requirements are considerably different for each.

Still another object is to provide a sofa bed having a minimum of moving parts and one that is simple and economical to construct.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be i apparent during the course of the following description.

in the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification and in which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the same:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the device in its sofa position;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 2 2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the device in its bed position;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3 with the bed sheets removed; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the sofa bed of Fig. 3 with the bed sheets and pillow removed.

Styling and seating comfort have become increasingly important in the sofa-bed field, as is evidenced by the intensive efforts directed along these lines. In all known types of sofa beds, .these factors have been compromised to some extent in order to properly incorporate the feature of convertibility` In the present invention, however, all of these desirable features have been incorporated in a single device in such a manner that no one feature must be sacrificed in order .to adequately provide for another, and this has been accomplished in an extremely simple and economical fashion.

The basic organizational feature of 'the present invention resides in the use of overlapping back cushions that unfold to overlie the seat cushions and form the Inattress for the bed. In addition, the seat cushions and back cushions are oppositely tapered to provide a bed mattress of constant thickness and having a horizontal supporting surface and also to provide a sofa having properly contoured seat cushions and back cushions.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to Figs. l and 2 wherein the device is shown in sofa position, it may be seen that though it is a sofa bed, it has all .the outward appearance of a regular sofa. The sofa bed comprises a rectangular support frame 10, the four sides of which are preferably formed by wooden slats. The front and rear slats 12 and 13, respectively, are shown in Fig. 2 and the side slats are not shown. A leg 14 is provided at each of the corners of the rectangular frame and also at intermediate points along `the front and rear slats. At each end of the frame it is provided with upwardly projecting arm rests 16 and along the rear is provided with an upwardly and slightly rearwardly extending back portion 17. The above described shell or support frame may be of any conventional construction and forms no part of the present invention. The usual padding 4and covering material is, of course, applied to the external portions of the shell and need not be described in detail.

The bottom opening of the shell, generally indicated at 19 in Fig. 2, is provided with means for supporting the cushioning units 20 and may consist of rigid wires or bands extending from the front slat 12 to the rear slat 13 in closely spaced relationship and forming an effective oor for the cushioning units 20. The cushioning units are coiled helical springs that provide the basic cushioning in the sofa bed of the present invention. The particular manner of providing a floor for the springs 20 and for mounting the springs within the shell is of no concern as any conventional arrangement for accomplishing this will adequately serve the purposes of the present invention. The cushioning units may be individually secured to the iloor or they may be portions of a complete spring package or box spring that is mounted within the rectangular frame formed by the Wooden slats. The base frame is completed by providing the conventional padding and covering around the top and sides of the cushioning means.

The base frame receives a pair of seat cushions 21 which rest on top of the cushioning units of the base and extend from the front edge of the base frame to the rear edge whereby they are in abutting relationship with the back 17 of the sofa bed. The particular number of seat cushions employed is, of course, a matter of choice and forms no part of the present invention. Y

p The seat cushions 21 are tapered from the front 22 t0 the rear 23 in order to aiford a maximum of seating com- Y fort, and this arrangement is clearly indicated in Fig. 2

wherein the front end 22 of lthe seat cushion is shown to be thicker than the rear end 23. In the preferred embodiment shown, the front ends of the seat cushion are 17 inches above the lioor and the rear ends are 15 inchesV springs by a covering 25 that'is wrapped completelyV around the layer of springs. Above the springs is a layer 27 of rubberized hair and cotton. As shown, 'the layer 27 tapers rearwardly to provide the necessary taper for the seat cushions and this is the preferred arrangement. It s hould be noted, however, that the arrangement of the seat cushions may be reversed in that the layer of springs g 24 could have been tapered rearwardly and that the padding layer could be of equal thickness. Alternatively,

each layer may be tapered to some extent in order toA provide the desired seating contour.

Finally, the sofa bed of thevpresent invention includesV the back cushion assembly, designated generally at 2S, and this assemblyv mayalso be described as laminar. The assembly'consists of an outer section 29 and inner section 30 hingedly connected at the top ends thereof and disposed in overlapping relationship. The overall assembly, which is of constant thickness, is supported along the rear edges of the seat cushions 21 and rests against the patented Oct, 8, 1957,

back 17. The back cushion assembly 28 runs generally parallel to the back 17 and presents a rearwardly in chned back supporting surface that cooperates with the downwardly inclined seat supporting surface toprovide a comfortably contoured sofa.

As shown inFigs. 1 and 5, the outer section of the back cushion assembly may consist of the same Ynumber of individual cushions as there are seat cushions as this achieves the most pleasing appearance. Alternatively, the outer cushion may be a single cushion that is artificially indented, as at 32, to give 4the appearance of separate cushions. With this arrangement `the simulated or articial junctions are correlated with each seat cushion juncture, such as shown at 33 in Fig.` 1. The inner section 30 may consist of a single cushion and need not be provided with any simulated junctions as they are not visible externally. Y

Foam rubber is preferred for the back cushions though any other suitable cushioning material may also be ernployed.

As viewed in Fig. 2, the inner back cushion 30 tapers upwardly and the outer back cushion 29 tapers downwardly. Since each cushion is oppositely tapered and since each tapers Vat the same rate, 4the overall thickness of .the assembly is constant. It should also be noted that the top ends of the inner and outer cushions are of equal thickness.

The back cushions are hingedly connected together by applying a strip of tape 34 across the juxtaposed top ends of the cushions. The tape preferably extends over the entire length ofthe cushions and is applied directly to the foam rubber material. In this regard it is particularly important that foam rubber be used as the cushioning material since it facilitates the provision of a hinged connection. After the cushions are thus connected, 4they are completely enveloped by suitable covering material comprising a continuous top portion 36,. a rear portion 37, a rear lower portion 38, a rear inner portion 39 extending to the hinge, a front inner portion 40, a front lower portion 41, and a front portion 4Z completing the envelope.

In converting the sofa bed from sofa position to bed position, it is merely necessary to pull .the lower end of the outer cushion 29 forwardly across 4the seat cushions 21 so that the outer and inner back cushions pivot about the hinge 34. This action causes the back cushion to unfold from the overlapped position of Fig. 2 to the coplanar position of Figs. 4 and 5. When the cushions are in their coplanar position, they taper from the rear to the front and the taper of the back cushions is equal and opposite to the taper of the seat cushions so that the upper surface of the back cushions is horizontal. Thus the back cushions unfold and cooperate with the seat cushions to form a mattress. in this connection, it should be noted that the sleeping depth ofthe present sofa bed is considerably larger than the sitting depth and this is principally due to the fact that the back cushions, when in sofa position, occupy a portion of the overall depth.

In the preferred embodiment, the overall or sleeping depth is preferably 30 inches and the seating depth is preferably 22 inches. The inner back cushion tapers from a thickness of 4 inches .to a thickness of 3 inches and the outer back cushion tapers from a thickness of 3 inches to a thickness of 2 inches. Each back cushion is preferably inches wide.

Fig. 3 illustrates the sofa bed when prepared for sleeping. A sheet 44 covers the mattress comprising the seat cushions and back cushions and a second sheet or blanket 45 serves as `an outer covering. A pillow 46 rests on one end lof .the sofa and extends over the arm rest 16. Because the arm rest 16 extends only a slight distance above `the surface of the mattress, the arm rest may support a portion of the pillow 46 and this arrangement actually increases the useful length ofthe sofa.

Thus it may be seen that the objects of the present invention have been accomplished in that the sofa bed is arranged so that it provides a properly contoured seat and yet is readily converted into a properly contoured bed by unfolding the overlappingback cushions to form a mattress. In addition, the sofa bed requires but a minimum of moving parts and is economicalto manufacture.

It should be understood'that the description jof the t preferred form of the invention is for the purpose of complying with section i12, Title 35 of the United States Code, and that .the appended claim should be construed as broadly as the prior art will permit.

I claim:

ln a sofa bed, the combination Vwith a horizontally elongated, generally rectangular base frame having an upwardly facing, horizontally elongated, generally rectangular seat cushion-supporting surface, and having a horizontally elongated back coextensive with and extending upwardly from adjacent the rear of said supporting surface, and seat cushion means having a horizontally extending rear edge abutting said back, said seat cushion means overlying and being substantially coextensive with said supporting surface to provide a horizontally elongated, generally rectangular seating surface that inclines slightly downwardly in the direction of said back, with said back providing a generally rectangular cushion-engaging surface above said seating surface and horizontally coextensive therewith, the area of said cushion-engaging surface being approximately one-half the area of said seating surface; of front and rear cushioning means each providing a horizontally elongated major surface and a horizontally elongated minor surface substantially normal to said major surface, each such major surface being substantially equal in size and shape to said cushion-engaging surface, and means hingedly connecting said front and rear cushioning means along the adjacent elongated edges of their major surfaces for folding movement thereof between a rst position wherein the major surfaces of said front and rear cushioning means are in superposed relationship and said front and rear cushioning means are supported with their minor surfaces resting upon a horizontally elongated rear area of said seating surface and constitute, respectively, outer and inner back cushions with the inner cushion extending parallel to and leaning against said cushion-engaging surface, and a second position wherein said major surfaces are in anking relationship andY constitute a mattress surface coextensive with and supported on said seating surface, one of said cushioning means tapering horizontally toward its hingedly connected edge and the other of said cushioning means tapering away from its hingedly connected edge with said cushioning means being of equal thickness at the region of their hingedly connected edges, the rate of .taper of said cushioning means being equal and being substantially equal to the degree of inclination of said seating surface such that said mattress surface is horizontal.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 604,997 Mandl May 31, 1898 1,043,482 Thum et al. Nov. 5, 1912 1,912,711 Kindel lune 6, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS 667,041 Germany Nov. 3, 1938 

